"Anti-gays express opinions at rally"

Anti-gays express
opinions at rally
Some scream
epithets, others
display signs
opposing gays
By Marianne Flogg
The Idaho Statesman
The large hand-painted sign
was blunt: "Only good queer is a
dead queer."
To the band of a dozen sream-
ing protesters at a gay pride
rally Saturday, the sign pro­claimed
their disgust at homo-
sexuality - and a wish that
gays would go away.
For gays and their supporters,
the sign showed the hate they
say drives many of the people
who want to keep them from
obtaining civil rights.
Stuck in the middle were peo­ple
who oppose homosexuality
but who don't want to be associ-
ated with the protesters who
were screaming words like
"freak" and "fag" - and worse.
The shouters were ge.neral1y
young men - although there
was one woman - from Nampa.
One man carried a small child
on his shoulders while he
screamed at the gay group.
Robert Prater, one of the peo­ple
screaming slurs, defended
his actions. "They are the freaks
of the world, and filth, the disci-
ples of the Antichrist. It's against
what's natural.
Anti-gay demonstrators Mike Hoge, left, and Robert Prater, both of Nampa, shout obscenities at
speakers and supporters who turned out for the fifth annual gay parade on Saturday.
Patrick Connor of Nampa,
who protests the gay parade ev­ery
year, videotaped some of the
rally participants and intro-
duced his boxer. Dan-o, as "a
homophobe dog." Dan·o was on
a leash.
"I've been coming out here
five years to protest these filthy
people," Connor said.
The dog barked, and Connor
taid, "Get 'em Dan-o, queers,
queers."
Parade speaker Brian Berg-
quist, a leader in the Boise gay
community, handled the protest­ers
with humor. He led the
crowd in blowing o kiss to
Connor.
"It's a very loving relationship
we have now with Pat,"
Bergquist quipped.
Lesbian comedian Robin Tyler
couldn't contain her anger at
the "dead queer'' sign.
'I'm Jewish," Tyler said, her
face red and her voice rising. "If
that sign said 'The only good
Jew is a dead Jew; or 'The only
good black is a dead black,' we'd
be kiicking your... asses. So
you're very lucky we're non-
violent."
The crowd cheered.
Many or the protesters
weren't screaming.
They stood silently with signs
that read, "Do Not Mock God"
und "Hate The Sin. Not the Sin-
ner."
Dennis Mansfield, executive
dirccror of tbe ldabo Family Forum,
stood far from the vocal
protesters, whom he criticized.
But he remained opposed to
the rally. People in his group
were "amazed that so many of
the counterculture extremists
are being joined by some moder­ates
and left-leaning activists
that aren't homosexual. It's ob­vious
a coalition is building. I
can't see thousands of Idahoans
supporting this." Mansfield
said.
Jan Ray, a Boise lesbian who
helped with the parade, said
gays were pleased by the turn-
out, but chastened by the hostile
protest.
''It made it a little more
scary," she said.
"We've never had that kind of
display, with hatred."
What the ICA's anti-gay Initiative says
PROPOSED TITLE 17. CHAP
TER 10, IDAHO CODE:
Section 67-8001: PURPOSE OF ACT
provision of Title 67.
Chapter 80 of The Idaho Code are
enacted by the people of the State
of Idaho in Recognition that homo-
sexuality shall not form the basis
for the granting of minority status.
This chapter is promulgated in fur­therance
of the provisions of Article
3, section 24 of the Constitu­tion
of the State of ldaho.
Section 67-8002: SPECIAL
RIGHTS FOR PERSONS WHO EN-
GAGE IN HOMOSEXUAL BEHAV­IOR
PROHIBITED. No agency, de-
partment, or political subdivision
of the State of Idaho shall enact or
adopt any law, rule, policy, or
agreement which has the purpose
or effect of granting minority status
to persons who engage in ho­mosexual
behavior, solely on the
basis of such behavior; therefore
affirmative action, quota preferences,
and speclal classifications
such as "sexual orientation" or
similar designations shall not be
established on the basis of homo­sexuality.
All private persons shall
be guaranteed equal protection of
the law in the full and free exer-
cise of all rights enumerated and
guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution,
the Constitution of the State
of ldaho, and federal and state
law. All existing civil rights protections
based on race, color, religion,
gender, age, or national ori-
gin are reaffirmed, and public
services shall be available to all
persons on an equal basis.
Section 67-8003: EXTENSION
OF LEGAL INSTITUTION OF
MARRIAGE TO DOMESTIC PART-
NERSHIPS BASED ON HOMO-
SEXUAL BEHAVIOR PROHIBITED.
Same-sex marriages and
domestic partnerships are hereby
declared to be against public poli-
cy and shall not be legally recognized
in any manner by any agency,
department, or political
subdivision of the State of Idaho.
Section 67-8004: PUBLIC
SCHOOLS. No employee. repre-
sentative, or agent of any public
elementary or secondary school
shall, in connection with school
activities, promote, sanction, or
endorse homosexuality as a
healthy, approved or acceptable
behavior. Subject to the provisions
of federal law, any discussion of
homosexuality within such
schools shall be age-appropriate
as defined and authorized by the
local school board of trustees.
Counseling of public school stu­dents
regarding such students'
sexual identity shall conform in
the foregoing.
Section 67-8005: EXPENDITURE
OF PUBUC FUNDS. No agency,
department or political subdivision
or the state of Idaho shall expend
public funds in a manner that has
the purpose or effect of promoting,
making acceptable, or expressing
approval of homosexuality.This
section shall not prohibit govern­mont
from providing positive guidance
toward persons experiencing
difficulty with sexual identity. This
section shall not limit the availabil-
ity in public libraries of books and
materials written for adults which
addresses homosexuality, provided
access to such materials is limited
to adults and meets local
standards as established through
the normal library review process.
Section 67-8006: EMPLOYMENT
FACTORS. With regard to public
employees, no agency, depart-
ment or political subdivision of the
State of Idaho shall forbid general-
ly the consideration of private sexual
behaviors as non-job factors,
provided that compliance with the
Title 67, Chapter 80, ldaho Code is
maintained, and that such factors
do not disrupt the work place.
Section 17-8007: SEVERABIL­ITY.
The PEOPLE INTEND. that if
any part of this enactment be
found unconstitutional, the re­maining
parts shall survive in full
force and effect. This section
shall be in all parts self-executing.

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Full-text

Anti-gays express
opinions at rally
Some scream
epithets, others
display signs
opposing gays
By Marianne Flogg
The Idaho Statesman
The large hand-painted sign
was blunt: "Only good queer is a
dead queer."
To the band of a dozen sream-
ing protesters at a gay pride
rally Saturday, the sign pro­claimed
their disgust at homo-
sexuality - and a wish that
gays would go away.
For gays and their supporters,
the sign showed the hate they
say drives many of the people
who want to keep them from
obtaining civil rights.
Stuck in the middle were peo­ple
who oppose homosexuality
but who don't want to be associ-
ated with the protesters who
were screaming words like
"freak" and "fag" - and worse.
The shouters were ge.neral1y
young men - although there
was one woman - from Nampa.
One man carried a small child
on his shoulders while he
screamed at the gay group.
Robert Prater, one of the peo­ple
screaming slurs, defended
his actions. "They are the freaks
of the world, and filth, the disci-
ples of the Antichrist. It's against
what's natural.
Anti-gay demonstrators Mike Hoge, left, and Robert Prater, both of Nampa, shout obscenities at
speakers and supporters who turned out for the fifth annual gay parade on Saturday.
Patrick Connor of Nampa,
who protests the gay parade ev­ery
year, videotaped some of the
rally participants and intro-
duced his boxer. Dan-o, as "a
homophobe dog." Dan·o was on
a leash.
"I've been coming out here
five years to protest these filthy
people," Connor said.
The dog barked, and Connor
taid, "Get 'em Dan-o, queers,
queers."
Parade speaker Brian Berg-
quist, a leader in the Boise gay
community, handled the protest­ers
with humor. He led the
crowd in blowing o kiss to
Connor.
"It's a very loving relationship
we have now with Pat,"
Bergquist quipped.
Lesbian comedian Robin Tyler
couldn't contain her anger at
the "dead queer'' sign.
'I'm Jewish," Tyler said, her
face red and her voice rising. "If
that sign said 'The only good
Jew is a dead Jew; or 'The only
good black is a dead black,' we'd
be kiicking your... asses. So
you're very lucky we're non-
violent."
The crowd cheered.
Many or the protesters
weren't screaming.
They stood silently with signs
that read, "Do Not Mock God"
und "Hate The Sin. Not the Sin-
ner."
Dennis Mansfield, executive
dirccror of tbe ldabo Family Forum,
stood far from the vocal
protesters, whom he criticized.
But he remained opposed to
the rally. People in his group
were "amazed that so many of
the counterculture extremists
are being joined by some moder­ates
and left-leaning activists
that aren't homosexual. It's ob­vious
a coalition is building. I
can't see thousands of Idahoans
supporting this." Mansfield
said.
Jan Ray, a Boise lesbian who
helped with the parade, said
gays were pleased by the turn-
out, but chastened by the hostile
protest.
''It made it a little more
scary," she said.
"We've never had that kind of
display, with hatred."
What the ICA's anti-gay Initiative says
PROPOSED TITLE 17. CHAP
TER 10, IDAHO CODE:
Section 67-8001: PURPOSE OF ACT
provision of Title 67.
Chapter 80 of The Idaho Code are
enacted by the people of the State
of Idaho in Recognition that homo-
sexuality shall not form the basis
for the granting of minority status.
This chapter is promulgated in fur­therance
of the provisions of Article
3, section 24 of the Constitu­tion
of the State of ldaho.
Section 67-8002: SPECIAL
RIGHTS FOR PERSONS WHO EN-
GAGE IN HOMOSEXUAL BEHAV­IOR
PROHIBITED. No agency, de-
partment, or political subdivision
of the State of Idaho shall enact or
adopt any law, rule, policy, or
agreement which has the purpose
or effect of granting minority status
to persons who engage in ho­mosexual
behavior, solely on the
basis of such behavior; therefore
affirmative action, quota preferences,
and speclal classifications
such as "sexual orientation" or
similar designations shall not be
established on the basis of homo­sexuality.
All private persons shall
be guaranteed equal protection of
the law in the full and free exer-
cise of all rights enumerated and
guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution,
the Constitution of the State
of ldaho, and federal and state
law. All existing civil rights protections
based on race, color, religion,
gender, age, or national ori-
gin are reaffirmed, and public
services shall be available to all
persons on an equal basis.
Section 67-8003: EXTENSION
OF LEGAL INSTITUTION OF
MARRIAGE TO DOMESTIC PART-
NERSHIPS BASED ON HOMO-
SEXUAL BEHAVIOR PROHIBITED.
Same-sex marriages and
domestic partnerships are hereby
declared to be against public poli-
cy and shall not be legally recognized
in any manner by any agency,
department, or political
subdivision of the State of Idaho.
Section 67-8004: PUBLIC
SCHOOLS. No employee. repre-
sentative, or agent of any public
elementary or secondary school
shall, in connection with school
activities, promote, sanction, or
endorse homosexuality as a
healthy, approved or acceptable
behavior. Subject to the provisions
of federal law, any discussion of
homosexuality within such
schools shall be age-appropriate
as defined and authorized by the
local school board of trustees.
Counseling of public school stu­dents
regarding such students'
sexual identity shall conform in
the foregoing.
Section 67-8005: EXPENDITURE
OF PUBUC FUNDS. No agency,
department or political subdivision
or the state of Idaho shall expend
public funds in a manner that has
the purpose or effect of promoting,
making acceptable, or expressing
approval of homosexuality.This
section shall not prohibit govern­mont
from providing positive guidance
toward persons experiencing
difficulty with sexual identity. This
section shall not limit the availabil-
ity in public libraries of books and
materials written for adults which
addresses homosexuality, provided
access to such materials is limited
to adults and meets local
standards as established through
the normal library review process.
Section 67-8006: EMPLOYMENT
FACTORS. With regard to public
employees, no agency, depart-
ment or political subdivision of the
State of Idaho shall forbid general-
ly the consideration of private sexual
behaviors as non-job factors,
provided that compliance with the
Title 67, Chapter 80, ldaho Code is
maintained, and that such factors
do not disrupt the work place.
Section 17-8007: SEVERABIL­ITY.
The PEOPLE INTEND. that if
any part of this enactment be
found unconstitutional, the re­maining
parts shall survive in full
force and effect. This section
shall be in all parts self-executing.